Stop the Casino 101 Coalition
Rohnert Park makes bad bet on casino
Saturday, May 19, 2012
With a final signature, Gov. Jerry Brown made it official: a 3,000-slot casino is coming to Rohnert Park, the biggest gambling facility yet on the edge of the Bay Area. The $433 million project next to Highway 101 in Sonoma County may be raking in chips within a year.
The size and prime location may sound like a claim to fame, but it's not. The casino is the latest and most outrageous misuse of a voter-approved gambling on Indian reservations. Promoted as a way to bring economic life to remote locations, the concept has been corrupted. Of the 107 recognized tribes in the state, 60 have casinos.
This surge is only going one way: toward large population centers where the wallets and purses are. It's led to constant leapfrogging as tribes regroup, find a new location that cuts in front of a rival casino, and win approvals from friendly politicians.
In Rohnert Park's case, the new casino will be 30 miles closer to San Francisco than River Rock, a gambling spot farther north in Geyserville. Rohnert Park hopes to recoup $20 million over 10 years to cover traffic and other impacts.
In a slow economy, a glittering casino is no bargain. The personal toll of gambling losses, jarring change in local character and a relative pittance in local benefits are parts of a bad bet.
The size and prime location may sound like a claim to fame, but it's not. The casino is the latest and most outrageous misuse of a voter-approved gambling on Indian reservations. Promoted as a way to bring economic life to remote locations, the concept has been corrupted. Of the 107 recognized tribes in the state, 60 have casinos.
This surge is only going one way: toward large population centers where the wallets and purses are. It's led to constant leapfrogging as tribes regroup, find a new location that cuts in front of a rival casino, and win approvals from friendly politicians.
In Rohnert Park's case, the new casino will be 30 miles closer to San Francisco than River Rock, a gambling spot farther north in Geyserville. Rohnert Park hopes to recoup $20 million over 10 years to cover traffic and other impacts.
In a slow economy, a glittering casino is no bargain. The personal toll of gambling losses, jarring change in local character and a relative pittance in local benefits are parts of a bad bet.
This article appeared on page A - 11 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/18/EDNI1OK7Q9.DTL#ixzz1vNaBvRFW
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